Sealed Secrets
by waiting4morning
Summary: Kakashi visits an old friend; a man believed to have died 15 years ago. A man who knows the Kyuubi even better than Naruto. Last chapter up! Not yaoi. Takes place in Shippuden.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I'm just playing in Kishimoto's sandbox.

**Author's Note:** This is pure speculation born of a chat with singeivoire (go read her fics!), though it would be awesome if it were true. Spoilers for some of the manga but nothing plotwise. Takes place in Shippuden, after they've met Yamato.

* * *

Sitting in his room, his well-thumbed copy of _Make-out Paradise_ in hand, Kakashi glanced up at the clock by his bed. The hour hand clicked over to midnight. He closed his book, dog-earing the page he'd stopped at, and stood to pull on his green flak vest. Time to go. 

His route across the roofs of Konoha was eerily quiet as he'd concentrated his chakra to cushion his footfalls. Hokage Mountain soon loomed above him, the huge faces sinister with the shadows of night. Kakashi descended from the rooftops into a long-abandoned section of the village—the Uchiha complex. In the old days when Sasuke still lived there, this trip had taken longer as he'd had to go out of his way to avoid the apartment where the last of the Uchiha clan slept. It wouldn't do at all for anyone to see him—not then and not now.

Kakashi paused at the front of the crumbling façade of the Military Police building, glancing down the dusty street, even lifting his forehead protector to let the sharingan examine the area. Nothing. Not even a cat in the alley. Lifting his hands to form a secret seal that the Third Hokage had shown him personally, Kakashi stepped through the genjutsu and entered a dark room.

He felt the kunai at his throat before he saw the porcelain mask of the ANBU guard loom out of the darkness. Kakashi kept still, knowing this would be over in a moment.

"_Kai!_" the ANBU guard lifted his hand in a seal, but his face was hidden by the mask so Kakashi couldn't tell if he was surprised when nothing happened or not. Another guard, stocky and silent, took the package Kakashi had tucked under one arm.

"They say," the ANBU said in a monotone, "that it was Shodai's wood element jutsu that created the village…"

"But it is a will of fire that sustains it," Kakashi finished. The ANBU nodded.

"Remove your vest," said the guard after a few more minutes of other hand seals, all designed to uncover any potential mischief.

Kakashi kept his movements slow and visible, knowing that this guard and the other hidden ones were under orders to kill at the slightest hint of trouble, even after the countersign. Kunai holster followed the vest along with his two hidden daggers. They allowed him to keep his forehead protector, after a brief examination, and the package he brought after even more examination—then he was allowed to continue through the room, past another guard, to the flight of stairs.

He walked for what seemed an eternity until the wood of the building had long faded into the dark behind him and the walls and steps were entirely cut out of stone. He reached the top, stopping as a dazzling light burst in front of his eye.

"Good evening, Kakashi-san. Sorry about the light."

"No problem," Kakashi said, squinting as the beam of light shuttered. It was designed to dazzle potential enemies into pausing as he had, giving the ANBU a few precious seconds of advantage. The ANBU agent waited until Kakashi's eye adjusted and then walked with him through the stone corridor.

"How are you, Taishi-san?"

"Very well, considering. How's your team? Has Naruto-kun made chuunin yet?"

Kakashi cast a glance at the ANBU operative. "You've met Naruto?"

"No, but I hear about him… often."

"Ah, yes, of course." Kakashi paused. "He's doing well. A new training technique we're trying has allowed him to progress much faster than usual, which is always exciting for him. I have every confidence that he'll make chuunin in the next exam. Technically, he's been chuunin level for quite some time. The test will be a mere formality to confirm it."

The ANBU nodded politely.

"So how has _he_ been since my last visit?" Kakashi said, switching tacks. He glanced at his companion, though the porcelain bird mask gave no indication of the man's expression.

"The usual, sir. He has his good days and bad days—" Taishi broke off as a torch illuminated a burnt patch on the wall. The rock was charred and black, pockmarked, and grotesquely bulging in places where it had melted and started to drip down the wall before cooling into place. "That was a bad day."

"You let him out?" Kakashi was incredulous, and he gripped the paper-wrapped bowl in his hand with white-knuckled fingers.

The ANBU's shoulders hunched slightly, the only sign of embarrassment Kakashi could see. "This is a rough job, Kakashi-san," he said in a quiet voice. "One minute he's pleasant and witty—like a favorite uncle and you can't believe that someone like him is locked away in a place like this. They wanted to let him stretch his legs. But then—" His hand waved at the molten patch of rock.

"Ah. So that's why there are two more guards up here."

The ANBU stiffened; then laughed wryly. "No sense in denying it to Sharingan Kakashi. But they would prefer it if you at least pretended not to know they were here."

"Point taken."

They continued walking in silence for a few more yards until stopping at an iron-shod door with no visible doorknob or even a keyhole. Only a paper tag marked with the kanji "seal" covered the crack between the door and the wall.

"I leave you here, sir. Yell if you need help or if he starts… Well, you know." The young ANBU guard's voice held just a touch of fear, not that Kakashi blamed him. Even he couldn't forget what exactly the man behind the door was. He nodded, turned to the door, and formed the second secret seal that no one in the village besides the guard he just left and Godaime herself knew.

The iron door hissed open as the seal released, and Kakashi stepped through.

In the darkness of the cell, he lifted his forehead protector and felt the chakra leech as the sharingan whirred into focus. Immediately he could see the simmering ball of red chakra in the darkest corner of the cell—though safely behind an iron portcullis of course. A rumbling growl sounded through the cavernous stone room, and he could see two glowing red eyes staring at him.

"Ka… Kakashi-kun?" The voice alternated between a light tenor and a rumbling, beastly growl. The red eyes blinked slowly. Kakashi stepped forward and slid the bowl he'd brought under the low hole in the iron-barred wall.

"I brought you a present," he said, stepping away from the bars. "I'm afraid it's not as warm as it once was, but they don't exactly have microwaves up here, do they?"

The eyes moved to the bowl. Kakashi heard the sound of paper tearing and then, to his relief, a joyful, human laugh. "Ramen! How did you sneak it in here? By the way, turn the light on, will you?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't bring any chopsticks. The guards confiscated those. Something about pointy objects," Kakashi said, patting along the side of the wall until finding the light switch, an incongruous plastic against the stone wall.

The other man snorted. "Funny thing is, I'm not a danger to myself unless _It_ gets too out of control. But with the chakra repression drugs they have me on, that hasn't happened in years. _It_ knows better than to make me hurt myself, because if I die, _It_ does too." Slurping sounds came from the cell.

Kakashi turned back to the cell and sat down on the floor, regarding the other man as he ate. Dirty blond hair, matted and long, framed the man's thin face. At one point he had been handsome—the crooked nose had been once been unbroken, the blue eyes didn't always have a tint of red, and the deep, dark marks on his cheeks that looked like whiskers had not always been there either.

"Ah," said the man, licking his lips to catch any stray drops of ramen broth. "That tasted like heaven." He swiped the sleeve of his shirt across his mouth and looked at Kakashi, his eyes suddenly serious. "How is Naruto?"

"Good. I wish you'd thought of that technique about using shadow clones to learn new jutsu earlier. It would have saved Naruto—and me—a lot of trouble."

The other man grinned at Kakashi's tone and tapped the side of his head in a knowing manner. "Genius, remember?"

"As if you'd let me forget," Kakashi said in a dry voice. "I believe that's how you introduced yourself to me… sensei."

The former Fourth Hokage chuckled, eyes crinkling at the corners. "No, no. You're mixing things up. That's how you were introduced to me. I'll never forget the proud way your little finger jabbed itself at my nose and then how you informed me with all the seriousness a six-year-old can muster that you were a genius and that you didn't need a jounin sensei."

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck with an embarrassed laugh, and the two men, master and student, sat in silence for one peaceful moment. But, of course, it wasn't to last.

"You know, Kakashi, I'm sure if you brought Naruto with you someday, I could teach him all kinds of things that would make his training easier!" The words were spoken in a light, offhand manner, but Kakashi wasn't fooled.

"You know why we can't do that," he said in a gentle voice. "It is bad enough that the yang half of the Kyuubi's chakra resides in Naruto, and that the yin resides in you. You know that the yin is the stronger—that's why you took it upon yourself—and your seal is weakening, just like Naruto's. If the two were ever to come together…" Kakashi shook his head. "It is a risk we dare not take."

"Yeah, I know," came the words after a moment. "If only I had died like I was supposed to…" Minato gave a grim laugh. "Who would have thought that even the Death God wanted nothing to do with the Kyuubi? Perhaps the red chakra gives him indigestion."

Kakashi didn't reply. What reply was there?

"I take it the Tenzou kid is useful then?"

"Extremely," Kakashi said in some relief at the change of topic. "It's due to his abilities that Naruto's been able to progress so far in such a short period of time. He saved Naruto's life on their last mission." Kakashi paused. "I'm only sorry that it had to come at a cost to you."

The shadowy figure shrugged. "He's my son. I'd give my life to see him succeed, to see him live a normal life. I tried once and it didn't work, guess I thought I'd do it again." The blond's mouth twisted in a familiar grin that crinkled his eyes, hiding the dark circles beneath them. "Besides, now that they're giving me more drugs to replace the control Tenzou had over _It_, I'm a lot happier."

"Sensei—"

"No, really. They do something to my memory, so a lot of times I can't remember when I have a 'bad' day, so really, it's like _It's_ not there."

He was lying and they both knew it.

"What was your name again?"

Kakashi's head jerked up, but the blond was grinning.

"Gotcha!" he chuckled. "Ha! You should see your face. But wait, you can't with that mask in the way!"

"Heh," Kakashi smiled wanly beneath his mask. The drugs must be affecting his old teacher more than he let on.

"Here," Minato slid the bowl back underneath the iron bars and withdrew his hands quickly, but not so fast that Kakashi didn't see how hard they trembled; like an elderly man with palsy. Perhaps it was just as well that the ANBU took the chopsticks; didn't look like the former Yondaime could hold them anyway.

Silence descended upon the cell.

"Sensei—"

"Hang on," the older man grunted and Kakashi saw, with alarm, the red center of chakra flare. Kyuubi.

"Stay down, you bastard fox," growled Minato, his voice growing deep as the red chakra continued to spread through his body. Kakashi waited, tense, his sharingan automatically telling his brain where his body needed to be should Minato lose control and leap for the bars.

Minato was gripping the sides of his head, but then his hands relaxed, and he looked up at Kakashi—his eyes were crimson. A feral grin stretched his mouth unnaturally wide.

"So you know where my other half is, do you?" Minato stood, his movements jerky, and gripped the iron bars, staring at Kakashi with the intensity of a predator stalking his prey. "Bring him to me!" he roared, the sound filling the room.

"You know I can't do that," Kakashi remained calm, though all his instincts were screaming that he leave now. "Sensei, don't let him take over. You know me, you know I've looked after Naruto for you. I swear that I'll protect him with my life."

Minato shrieked and seemed to push himself away from the bars, collapsing at the back of the cell. Kakashi's sharingan saw the red chakra begin to disperse and inhaled a deep, steadying breath. That was a close one. But the drugs were doing their job.

"Ugh…" Minato's voice sounded as it should as he sat up, pushing back the filthy tangle of his hair. "Kakashi-kun? What are you doing here?"

"Just came for a visit, sensei."

"Oh." He paused, blue eyes vacantly hopeful. "Is Naruto with you?"

* * *

Kakashi slept in the next morning to make up for how late he had stayed with his former sensei. When he finally arrived at the training grounds, Naruto ranted for a few minutes and then demanded to know what his excuse was this time.

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "Sorry, Naruto. I was… chatting with an old friend and lost track of time."

"Liar!"

Kakashi looked up toward Hokage Mountain. "Yeah," he muttered, "that's exactly what I am."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_::Sometime later::_

"Kakashi-san!"

Kakashi sat up in bed, kunai at the ready. The light in his room flickered on. Squinting, Kakashi saw that it was an ANBU agent and lowered his kunai. Rubbing a hand through his sleep-tousled hair, he yawned.

"Couldn't this wait until morning?"

"You must come to Hokage Mountain. Naruto's there. He's… getting very upset."

Kakashi stared at the agent, horror trickling through his veins. "Don't tell me he knows about…?"

The ANBU nodded.

"Give me thirty seconds."

* * *

Kakashi ran faster than he ever had in his life, even the younger ANBU agent beside him seemed to have trouble keeping up. 

"Go and wake Tenzou—do you know who that is?"

"Hai."

"Get him," Kakashi ordered. "We're going to need his ability to control bijuu."

"Sir! You don't think—"

"There's no time. Go!"

"Hai!"

The night-darkened village sped by in a blur, and Kakashi hoped he wasn't too late. A dark figure leaped up to join him as he neared Hokage Mountain.

"Senpai!" Tenzou's voice came through the darkness. "What's going on?"

"Naruto seems to have found out about… the person currently residing in Hokage Mountain; your former charge."

Tenzou's eerily wide eyes stared at him for a moment; then he looked back at their destination. "This is turning out to be a bad day."

"It's going to get worse," Kakashi said grimly.

"How did Naruto find out?"

"I don't know. I only know that this village is in the same danger from Kyuubi it was fifteen years ago if he manages to get up there to see his father."

They saw the orange glow at the same time and increased their speed without saying a word. Both of them dropped onto the street in front of the Uchiha military police building, taking in the situation.

Four ANBU guards stood in front of the building; a few had kunai in their hands. One had his hands clasped in a tiger seal, his porcelain bird mask reflecting the orange glow of the boy in front of them. Naruto was crouched on the ground, the Kyuubi's red chakra boiling over his skin in the Demon Fox's cloak. One tail already waved in the air and another started to make an appearance as Kakashi and Tenzou looked on. Naruto noticed their arrival, and his crimson, slit-pupil eyes narrowed.

"You…" he growled, staring at Kakashi. "You lied to me!" The second tail waved in the air like a flickering flame, and to Kakashi's alarm, a third was quickly bubbling up as well.

_This is bad!_ Kakashi started running. "Tenzou!" he shouted.

"I'm on it!" Tenzou's hands flashed through a few seals. "_Mokuton: moku johek no jutsu!_" Instantly wooden posts erupted out of the ground, diving in on Naruto and curling around his body.

"Kakashi-san, do you need help?" asked one of the ANBU guards.

"No, stay back. Tenzou can handle this." He glanced up at the ANBU. "Is someone in there guarding _him_?" He pointed at the Hokage Mountain where the hidden cell containing the other half of the Kyuubi's chakra resided.

"Hai! We're only from the first checkpoint. The others should have everything sealed up by now. It's standard protocol for a breach in security, as is sedating the… the patient."

Kakashi breathed easier. It was good to know that the yin half of the Kyuubi's chakra wouldn't be pushing to get out to where the yang was currently struggling against Tenzou's jutsu.

Naruto roared, his head briefly breaking free of the posts, but Tenzou was quick and had another rise up. Unfortunately, Naruto whipped around too fast and smacked his head hard on the wood. A moment later he slumped forward, unconscious, his forehead trickling blood from where he'd hit it. The Demon Fox's cloak receded, and Kakashi felt the tension in the air relax as the immediate threat passed.

"Kakashi-san."

The jounin turned to find the white-cloaked ANBU captain at his side.

"Yes?"

"Godaime wishes to speak to you immediately."

Kakashi glanced back at Naruto's prone form. One didn't normally ignore a summons from the Hokage, but…As if reading his thoughts the ANBU continued.

"I am under orders to escort Naruto-kun and Tenzou-san to ANBU headquarters."

Kakashi stiffened. "You're not going to interrogate Naruto."

The ANBU captain looked at him, his porcelain cat mask revealing nothing. "I will do what I must under the order of Hokage-sama, and you would do well to leave now to meet Godaime. She is in no mood for your usual tardiness." With that he walked over to Tenzou, saying something to the younger man in tones too low for Kakashi to catch.

Kakashi ground his teeth in frustration, glanced again at Naruto, and leaped onto a nearby roof.

* * *

"Did you tell him?" Tsunade stood framed by the window in her office, where Kakashi could see dawn just starting to light the sky. 

"I'm glad you're confident in my ability to keep a secret," he said dryly, in no mood to be accommodating.

"Don't mess with me, Kakashi!" Tsunade slapped a hand down on her desk, causing a stack of paper to flop off onto the floor and her coffee cup to splash brown liquid everywhere. "I'm looking at a crisis here that could have cost the lives of everyone in the village!"

Kakashi sobered and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I did not tell Naruto anything, Hokage-sama. You know me better than that."

Tsunade blew out a breath and sat down in her chair. "How, then? How could he possibly find out? Only a handful of people know that Namikaze Minato is still alive. Jiraiya doesn't even know, and he was his sensei."

"I don't know. No one else could have told him. You trust ANBU, right?"

She snorted. "With my life every day. You've been there, Kakashi, you know the rigorous loyalty tests they go through to even get into ANBU."

Kakashi paused, but he couldn't wait any longer. "What are they going to do to Naruto?"

Tsunade lifted her head, hazel eyes bright. "Nothing, for the moment. For what the ANBU have in mind, he needs to be healthy and that knock on his head will make them wait at least a day so his regenerative abilities can kick in."

Kakashi leaned over the desk, his single eye narrowed. "I won't let you hurt Naruto."

Tsunade's eyes hardened like amber. "You're pushing insubordination, Hatake."

"I don't care. I promised Minato that I'd protect him and besides that, he's my student."

_Those who leave their friends behind are worse trash_, echoed Obito's youthful voice in his mind.

Tsunade sighed. "They're not going to hurt him." She looked up at him, brows furrowed. "Do you really think I'd let someone hurt Naruto? That I'd torture him for information? I'd protect him with my life, same as you."

"Can I talk to him?"

Tsunade nodded. "He's being kept in the lower basement with Tenzou for safety reasons. Tell ANBU that I have allowed to you see him."

"Thank you."

* * *

Sakura yawned as she strode through the upper hallway of Hokage Tower, wondering if Shizune had made coffee yet. She hadn't meant to get up so early, but she'd woken up to go to the bathroom and next thing she heard was her mother bustling around in the kitchen. Knowing it was pointless to try to sleep again, she'd decided to go to see Tsunade, and perhaps earn some points for showing up early. 

Her hand was raised to knock at Tsunade's office when she heard a familiar voice within.

"… I promised Minato that I'd protect him and besides that, he's my student."

Kakashi-sensei? What was he doing up so early? Sakura didn't think her silver-haired sensei had ever even seen dawn—as late as he was to everything.

Tsunade was speaking now. "…Do you really think I'd let someone hurt Naruto? That I'd torture him for information? I'd protect him with my life, same as you."

Sakura clapped a hand over her mouth. Naruto? Torture? What was going on? Who was Minato? The name sounded vaguely familiar….

"Thank you." She heard Kakashi's voice and footsteps coming to the door. Where should she go? She had to hide! Concentrating chakra to her feet, she leapt and clung to the ceiling like a spider, holding her breath. An instant later, Kakashi opened the office door and strode out, his steps quick and purposeful. Sakura held her breath, but he kept walking, not even looking around. She saw his back turn the corner and then his voice came floating back to her.

"Next time you hope to hide, Sakura, don't wear so much perfume."

Sakura dropped from her perch, glanced at Tsunade's closed door, and turned the opposite way. Minato. She'd heard that name before, she was sure of it. But where? A few doors down was a small library, mostly filled with manuals of medical ninjutsu since Tsunade's arrival in the village. But there were some history books as well.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, stacks of books beside her, Sakura flipped through them and sure enough, found why the name was so familiar. She'd heard the name at the Academy during history lessons. _Namikaze Minato,_ she read, _also known_ _as the Yondaime Hokage, was the student of the Sannin Jiraiya. In his lifetime he was best known as Konoha's "Yellow Flash" for his _hiraishin no jutsu—_body flicker technique_—_but his greatest accomplishment was the defeat of the bijuu Kyuubi where he sacrificed his own life to save the village._

There was a small footnote at the bottom. _See picture page 412_. Sakura flipped to the page and gasped: only one other person in the world had that color of hair and those brilliant blue eyes. Could it be possible? Was Naruto related to the Fourth Hokage? Why hadn't she noticed before? But then she figured she could hardly be expected to catch the resemblance between her hyperactive teammate and a face on a mountain. But why hadn't _anyone_ said anything before? Naruto couldn't know this—he was obnoxious enough that she was sure he'd have bragged about it at some point. She looked down at the smiling face; his eyes even crinkled up the same as Naruto's.

"So, you've figured it out."

Sakura leapt to her feet, wincing as the book in her lap landed on her foot. "Hokage-sama!"

Tsunade leaned against the doorjamb frowning, but her expression wasn't the one that meant imminent death for any who happened to be within reach. Sakura dared to breathe a little easier.

"Is… is it true then? Is Naruto related to Yondaime?" She peeped at her master, wondering if she'd pushed too far, but Tsunade merely looked sad, not angry.

"Naruto…" she said with a sigh, "is the only child of Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage."

Sakura blinked. That still didn't answer the questions rolling through her mind. "Master… is Naruto in trouble? Why does he need to be interrogated?"

Tsunade shot her an irritated glance. "How much did you hear skulking about out there?"

Sakura flushed. "Um…"

"Never mind. Go get me some coffee, and we'll talk."

"Hai!"

* * *

"Go away." Naruto's voice echoed in the mostly empty room. Tenzou, sitting on a wooden chair, nodded a greeting to Kakashi but kept his focus on the blond teenager. Naruto was lying on a bed, encased up to his neck in an interlocking wooden case that made him look somewhat like he'd been placed in a sarcophagus from Suna. 

"I think we need to talk this out, Naruto," Kakashi said mildly, pulling up the only other chair in the room. "And seeing as you're a captive audience—literally—you're going to hear me out."

Silence descended upon the room. Finally, Naruto turned to his silver-haired sensei, betrayal swimming in his blue eyes.

"You lied to me."

Kakashi looked his student a moment. "Yes, I did, but I was under orders by Sandaime—"

"Damn your orders!" Naruto snarled. "I'm your student! How could you lie to me? You told me we were equals. Was that a lie, like everything else?"

"Naruto—"

"Shut up! My whole life I've been alone; no parents, no friends until Iruka-sensei. You know why I never asked anyone about my parents? I figured they weren't worth asking about cause no one bothered to tell me, so I knew that meant they must have abandoned me, been some kind of freaks or the lowest kind of filth of the village. No one bothered to tell me that my father is the fucking Forth Hokage and not only that, but he's alive! Alive and locked up in some hell-hole like an animal—" Naruto broke off as his voice cracked and tears started leaking from his eyes, wetting the pillow beneath his head.

Tenzou looked stunned and a little embarrassed, but, Kakashi reflected, he'd probably never heard anyone speak so disrespectfully to Kakashi's face. He took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry I had to lie to you, Naruto. But what's done is done, and though in some ways I am sorry for hiding the truth for so long, there were larger things at stake." Kakashi paused, waiting for an outburst, but Naruto appeared to be listening, albeit with that familiar stubborn expression. He continued. "Your father tried to sacrifice his life the day the Kyuubi attacked. Things didn't go as he planned, and he was left alive with the yin half of the Kyuubi's chakra sealed inside him, like the yang is sealed within you. He was the one who _insisted_ upon being locked up, for his own safety and the safety of everyone in the village. You think you have it bad? For you, the Demon Fox's Cloak usually only happens in moments of extreme emotion. Your father has had to deal with that almost every day because the yin half is much stronger. It's only been recent medical advances with chakra repression drugs that have kept him stable." He paused again. "But even with these drugs, even with Yamato there to suppress the Kyuubi, it probably wouldn't be enough should you meet him with both of your seals in the weakened states that they currently exist in, Kyuubi would reappear, and everyone in this village would die."

Naruto was quiet for a long time. "I'm never going to get to see him, am I?" He chuckled weakly. "Funny how you can care for someone you've never even met. I wish I'd never even found out in some ways."

Kakashi didn't reply. Of course it was impossible. Too risky, too dangerous.

"ANBU will ask you some questions tomorrow," he said after a moment, glancing up at Tenzou. "Do you know who told you about… the location of your father?"

Naruto shook his head. "No. All I remember before you two showed up is that I was running down the street toward the police building, and I knew my father was there. I don't know how I knew. I just did."

A knock sounded on the door. Kakashi and Tenzou shared a look. Was ANBU here already? Weren't they supposed to wait until tomorrow? The door opened to reveal Sakura, her eyes bloodshot, but she was smiling. She carried a small medical pack and a bowl with the Ichiraku kanji on it.

"Kakaii-sensei, Tsunade-sama said I might see to Naruto's head and bring him something to eat."

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto tried to lean back to see his teammate, a surprised expression replacing the melancholy.

"Hi, Naruto. Let me see your head." Sakura quietly set to work, opening her pack and cleaning away the blood on Naruto's head with an alcohol wipe.

"Ahh! That hurts!" he whimpered, turning his head away.

"Hold still. It'll be over in a moment," she said, firmly holding his head in place. "There. It's clean." She leaned down to inspect the gash closer, hand holding back his blond hair to see properly. "Looks like it's healing up already, but a little help never hurt." The green glow of medical ninjutsu reflected in her eyes as Sakura's deft finger drew across the cut. When the glow faded, Kakashi couldn't even see a scar. Her hand lingered on his head for a moment, and Kakashi was sure he saw a glimmer of tears in her eyes before she turned to put her things back in her pack.

"Yamato-taichou, how about letting me sit up to eat, ne?" Naruto was wriggling with impatience, blue eyes locked on the bowl that Kakashi held

Tenzou nodded and formed a seal. The wooden cask over Naruto's body retreated, and he sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Kakashi handed him the bowl with the wooden chopsticks taped to the top, and the teenager dug in with his usual eagerness.

"Are you hungry, Kakaii-sensei? Yamato-taichou?" Sakura said, looking at them. "I can bring something for you two as well."

"If you would, Sakura," Tenzou said. "Coffee—black—and the express breakfast from Nanko's sounds good. I'm going to be here for awhile."

"Nothing for me," Kakashi said. "I'll get something later."

Naruto looked up at Kakashi. "Are you leaving?"

"Not yet. But I have a report on a mission to finish. I'm already a day behind on it, but," he shrugged, "Tsunade-sama's used to that by now. I'll stay until ANBU comes to question you."

Naruto fiddled with his chopsticks, not looking at him. "Sensei… do you think… do you think you could tell me about him? About my dad?" 

Kakashi looked at him, then settled back into his chair. "The first time I met Namikaze Minato, I was four years old. He'd stopped by my father's house to borrow one of the nin-dogs…"


	3. Chapter 3

Last chapter! Many thanks to singeivoire, beta buddy and brillant author of _Promises_ (a Minato/Kushina fic! Go read!)

* * *

Kakashi waited in the hall outside the basement room where they held his student, his outwardly calm demeanor—reading his usual lurid orange novel—hiding the hypersensitivity he felt at every half-heard noise that came from the room. Tsunade had reassured him that the ANBU interrogators were only going to use _jigyaku no jutsu_—the reverse hypnosis technique—and that was completely painless. 

The door creaked open. Kakashi looked up from his book as Tsunade came out, brow furrowed with thought.

"Well?"

"Not now, Kakashi. I must think."

"Did it work? Does he remember?"

"He remembers…" she paused, "something troublesome."

"What?"

She waved him off. "Not now. I need to think of what to do."

With that her heels clicked down the hallway and up the stairs. Kakashi considered following her but thought better of it and walked into the room instead. Naruto looked a little groggy, but, glancing at Tenzou who gave him a slight nod, he breathed easier. The wood element ninja seemed disturbed, though—what had Naruto remembered?

* * *

Tsunade summoned Kakashi to her office later that day. When he arrived, his eye fell on her desk, and a familiar wave of sickened dread clenched his stomach. A tanto, its blade bloody up to the hilt, lay on the Hokage's desk. For a moment he was eight years old, and he had just run home from training with Minato-sensei, eager to try to cheer his father up with a show of a new jutsu he'd learned, but he'd been too late. The pool of blood beneath his father's body was thick, sticky, and his nimble mind, somehow not numb like his body, automatically calculated the time of death: sometime right after he'd left that morning. The tanto was still clutched in his father's blood-spattered hand...

"Nakano Taishi," Tsunade said softly, shattering his reverie, "a new ANBU recruit originally from the Hidden Sand Village but with so much promise in the arts of sealing that I put him on guard duty for Minato-sama." 

Kakashi looked up. "Taishi?"

"You knew him?"

"A little. I'd gotten to know him through talking with him while visiting Minato-sensei. He seemed like a good kid. What happened?"

"Taishi and his family moved to Konoha from Suna when he was a toddler, but it wasn't too early for Sasori to get hold of him."

Kakashi's eye widened. So that was it. They knew the Akatsuki member, Sasori, had perfected a hidden spy sealing technique. It had cost the Hidden Sand Village their Kazekage—briefly anyway—and dozens of loyal ninja.

"Taishi was one of Sasori's spies?"

Tsunade nodded. "The seal broke and it unbalanced his mind. Perhaps with Sasori dead it didn't work as it was supposed to; I don't know. But he's the one who told Naruto, and he would have gone to seek out his master, or maybe anyone with an Atatsuki cloak, and tell him what we have hidden in Hokage Mountain had not a little of his sanity returned." She gestured at the bloody tanto. "He told me all of this and slit his own belly before I could do anything. I tried…" she put her face into her hands, "I tried so hard! But there was too much blood, too much spilling out of him… He said with his last breath it was the only way to reclaim his honor for having nearly betrayed the village."

Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets, gazing at the floor. Technically, seppuku was forbidden—had been for decades—but it didn't stop it from happening, as he knew all too well.

"At least it's over," Tsunade said, running a shaking hand through her hair.

"No," said Kakashi, looking up. "It'll never be over for Naruto."

Tsunade nodded. "I wish he'd never found out." She sighed and rubbed her temples. "Even with Tenzou there to keep Kyuubi under control the risk is too great—Kakashi?"

Kakashi had stiffened as an idea hit him, and he rubbed the back of his neck, thinking furiously. "Hokage-sama… I think… I think I may have a way for Naruto to meet his father."

* * *

"You ready?" Kakashi looked at Tenzou and Sakura. They both nodded. Sakura was pale, but her green eyes were hard as jade. Kakashi nodded; she'd be fine. He formed the secret seal, and the iron-shod door hissed open.

Tenzou set about quickly employing his jutsu that he'd used to such good effect on Naruto while he was training to elementally recompose his chakra. Six wooden posts erupted from the rocky floor, and the suppression kanji appeared on his palm. Sitting down in the middle of the rough circle of posts, Tenzou said he was ready.

"Sensei?"

"I'm here…" said Minato's tired voice. They'd given him half a sedative before they'd let them up, and his prone figure on the futon was still. Kakashi uncovered his sharingan and nodded with satisfaction. The Kyuubi's red chakra was only small glowing ember in Minato's belly.

"Ready, Sakura?"

"Hai." Her face showed her shock at Minato's wasted, bedraggled condition, but her reply was unwavering.

Kakashi formed another secret seal and removed the sealing paper from the cell door. Both he and Sakura entered the cell, and she set to work setting out her equipment. Within no time she had Minato leaning over the small sink in the corner while she scrubbed his dirty, matted hair. When that was done she took some scissors from her bag, glancing up at Kakashi. They'd had to argue long and loud for the ANBU to allow them such a dangerous item, but they'd finally agreed.

"Minato-sama, I must warn you that I'm a medical nin, not a hair stylist," she said with a nervous laugh.

"Oh… I don't mind…" He smiled, his eyes distant. "You remind me of Kushina. She liked to play with my hair too."

Sakura looked up at Kakashi.

"Naruto's mother," he supplied.

Snip, snip. Clean, blond locks fell to the floor, and though it was far from stylish, it was much better than the matted mess that previously had hung to his elbows. When Sakura was finished, the Kyuubi's other vessel looked much better. His pale skin glowed from the scrubbing she'd given him and even his nose was straighter, her medical ninjutsu having gone to work after the haircut.

"You look halfway presentable now," Kakashi said with a smile, lowering his forehead protector over the sharingan. "Let's go get him, Sakura." They left the cell, resealed it, and exited the room, leaving Tenzou behind. When they emerged from the military police building, a familiar blond teenager was pacing up and down, bounding over to them as soon as they came out.

"Can I go in?"

Kakashi nodded.

"Naruto?"

"Yeah, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura suddenly flung her arms around her blond teammate. "Be careful!" With that she hastily turned away and left Naruto staring after her, slack-jawed.

"Come on, kiddo." Kakashi gestured toward the building, and they went in together. When they finally passed all the ANBU guard checkpoints, Naruto was noticeably more somber.

"You ready?" Kakashi looked at him.

"Yes."

"Let's meet your dad, then." He lifted his forehead protector and formed the secret seal.

Minato was sitting cross-legged by the cell door when they walked in, but he stood up, staring at Naruto.

Kakashi had always known that Naruto greatly resembled his father, but seeing them this close was startling. It was nearly like seeing twins. Naruto stepped toward the cell door, his face one of stunned emotion, as if he couldn't decide whether to be happy, sad, or both at the same time.

"How we doing?" Kakashi muttered to Tenzou.

"Not bad," he said, his voice sounding slightly strained. "Chakra activity has increased, but it's nothing I can't handle."

Kakashi turned back in time to see Minato's arm reach out through the bars. "Hi, Naruto."

Naruto looked at the hand and clasped it in his own. "Hi… Dad."

Not long later, in Hokage Tower, Kakashi blinked as his shadow clone in Hokage Mountain released the jutsu and all the knowledge of what had happened came flooding back. He glanced over at the real Naruto and wasn't surprised to see the kid wiping away some tears. Seeing him look over, Naruto gave a shaky, reassuring smile.

"I got to meet my dad, sensei."

"Yeah. It's been a good day."

**end**


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